Insect Direct

"flick in the net" :lol:

Looks like a southern bell. Having no toes should'nt hinder its quality of life and it will still make a great pet. I just wouldn't recommend breeding from it.

Looks female to me, but agree with repto, not the best photo. Be very gentle (dont force it) and try bend tail back/up will show the bump/s One bump =female 2 definite bumps = male unsure/ cant see obvious bumps = likely female unless its small/young

Alans onto it, Ive seen too many sickly looking turtles that dont have access to a basking platform. Its sad and probably due to lack of education to and from the petshops. Basking is very important. Maybe up the calcium intake, dust the food 2-3times a week. They dont have a beak like mouth as do the red ears so will struggle to eat cuttle bone. The calcium shells sold in pet shops could be added (not sure how effective this is) but adding calcium to the food is prob best, try hand feed so it doesnt wash off in the water.

Thanks Mel, raised a few frogs now but not many have been as green as that one Thats good hes basking. Hard to say why the shell would be like that. More vaired diet wouldnt hurt. Best foods are fresh water fish, Insects (live is best but HFF's new range is prob the next best thing and probably easier on the wallet considering how much turtles can munch back), Snails, worms and crustaceans. Ox heart in moderation but probably not the best. Hot house turtle food is good. Snakenecks are the main reason I started breeding insects (and fish :oops: ). Being carnivores the ox heart just wasnt enough on its own and is questionable in its self.

Me 2, learning more every day. Which makes it such a great hobby to be part of. By no means an expert though, just a bit bonkers Um in regards to bulbs, mystic made a valid point recently that some bulbs are rated more so for been on full time, something like that? I suspect you get what you pay for with the exo terra and the likes. I personally find just any old spotlight ok. Definitely want a ceramic holder. UV sounds good, i wouldnt put in any more but thats just me

I like your idea regarding the dark tile...so simple but it really does work Play around with the wattage of bulbs to get desired temp. Or use a thermostat. Im guessing a 40 or 60watt spotlight should suffice. Bunnings has all sorts of spotlights of different wattage, and even the same wattage but different sized bulbs. I use a 25watt for youngsters but their bulbs are closer to the basking rock/tile as appose to my older dragons. 40 to 60 watt for adults even upto 100watt depending on setup/time of year. 100watt+ bulbs really need a cage/guard. As the risk of burning the lizard increases etc. Doesnt hurt to have one for lower wattage bulbs too, but ive never had a problem. Only once had a minor burn and that was from a 150watt emitter.

As long as you have a basking/heat lamp above basking platform. He should come out and use it although they can be shy i suppose, especially in tanks. Uv without plastic cover may just fix it

May want a cave/shelter down the cool end as well. Otherwise looking good,

we are all equal, aswel as being individual in our own way, its what makes us who we are today some times it takes a few edits to get it right :lol:

Yep couldnt agree more.

:lol: you make me laugh

your shopping at the wrong supermarket :lol:

I dont think much of lettuce/mesculin in general. I grow my own mustard, clover, nasturtium, oregano, collard etc etc Fed some mesculin (from supermarket) to my crickets when starting out a few years ago and they were all dead that afternoon

I have a feeling tomatoes are not good. This page is not bad http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.c ... ition.html But I see they have naval orange and mandarin as an occasional food. For some reason im pretty confident that reptiles in general dont take well to citrus. Had a quick look on google and atleast on site mentions "Fruits can also be used, just avoid any citrus fruit such as oranges and grape fruit." interested to hear what others think....

Nope, no citrus

I think your right. If in a steady environment then temp shouldnt fluctuate so much. Easier said than done in a house without insulation or heat pump. Ive always wondered just how the hovabator works. Does it take a temp and stick to that or just on a level. So goes up and down with room temp? If that makes sense. These look good as they heat and cool http://www.hothouseturtles.co.nz/lucky_ ... oducts.htm

yeah sorry, Im not in a good mood today :oops: I found my hovabator fluctuated in temp considerably, but if it worked for Repto then maybe theyre not so bad after all. http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 605569.htm

Thing is, its not a cheap game to be getting into. $600-800 should get you a reasonable incubator. first lot of hatchlings and its paid for (if your lucky). Cheap incubators have cheap thermostats. = no good Fluctuating temps arnt good, im yet to see a good diy incubator, or atleast a good cheap one. Dont get me wrong im sure it can be done. But trying to do that on the cheap is a bit like buying a lizard for $500, then claiming you cant afford feed it.

No worries thank Ryan, he told me to

grindals

Try using scouring pads to culture them on, I always had trouble until using them. Just need to keep them moist. I had them going great then slacked off and they dried out :oops:

Yes definitely want a water bowl. I actually use food dish's (zoo med i think) for the water bowl as theyre shallow so safe for young ones. They sit in it daily, do number 2's more often than not. So clean and replace water daily. In regards to crickets, im yet to see any damage to any of my herps. And Ive been using them for the past 3/4years, at times leaving many uneaten in tanks (not recommended). As long as you have a water bowl the crickets dont seem to cause any harm. Crickets imo dont go chewing on reptiles because theyre hungry or for the sake of it, more so as they need moisture/water to survive. So without a water bowl they will try ANY thing, to survive. Beardies salad also gives the crix something to nibble. I dont recommend leaving any live food in the setup, just feed what they will eat. If you have bugs hopping around all day I find they loose interest. I chuck a couple in, if they eat, add more. If not try again in a couple of hours. But for my adults if they dont show interest then they dont get fed, until the next day (keeping in mind they have salad daily which they eat). Sounds harsh but dam my beardies are fast when they want to be. :lol:

i didnt even take note of the f :oops:

thats awesome, nice looking beardies to i feel special now having so many duds